- Katie Lee Biegel adds brown lentils to taco meat for a stealthy fiber boost.
- The mix adds 14 grams of fiber without changing the meat’s texture or taste.
- Works with any ground filling and several lentil types for easy meal upgrades.
Katie Lee Biegel just dropped her secret pantry ingredient for adding a ton of fiber to taco meat—and it blends in so well that she said even her 5-year-old food detective daughter doesn’t notice the addition. Maybe that’s because it’s the same color as the ground beef, or because of the soft texture. Either way, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the chef’s one-ingredient taco upgrade. Spoiler alert: it’s lentils.
Biegel walked her Instagram viewers through the steps for making her delicious-looking taco meat recipe, beginning by browning ground beef seasoned with a classic blend of spices, including chili, cumin, garlic and onion powders. She then added tomato paste—another pantry ingredient with rich umami flavor.
The twist comes in at the final step when she gently mixes in a cup of brown lentils. Adding them last helps them maintain their shape, and that 1 cup of almost imperceptible legumes boosts the fiber content of her pan by a whopping 14 grams (while stretching the meat to feed more people). To put that number into perspective, the average recommended daily fiber for an adult is between 25 to 34 grams, so the extra grams you get in this recipe can help you chip away at that daily goal.
And we love her choice of toppings for fresh flavor and crunch: lettuce, cilantro, tomatoes, shredded cheese, sour cream and a squeeze of lime. She wrapped it all up in a small, soft flour tortilla and noted that it reminded her of the comforting flavor of a Taco Bell Taco Supreme—which is quite the endorsement.
If you want to try this upgrade at your next Taco Tuesday, the good news is—beyond all that extra fiber—that it works well with pretty much any ground filling, and with several lentil varieties. So, don’t be afraid to apply it to your go-to recipe and use up whatever cooked lentils you have on hand. Black, brown and green lentils will work best since they tend to hold their shape better, while yellow and red lentils are generally sold skinned and/or split and yield a much softer texture when cooked, but they would be just as tasty.
Oh, and the chef also shared two tips for achieving the perfect consistency that you might find useful: add a small amount of water at a time to hydrate meat that’s a bit too dry; and for meat that’s looking a little too liquidly, simply let it drain on paper towels before returning it to the pan and moving on to the next steps.
Now that you’re all up to speed on how to make tacos as good as Katie’s, you can wow your family and friends over a big buffet-style dinner. We’ll let you decide whether or not to keep the lentils a secret and see if anyone notices—it’s such an under-the-radar addition that they probably won’t.
And if you’re short on taco inspiration, we have a few EatingWell recipes that won’t disappoint. Our favorites include these Crispy Sheet-Pan Black Bean Tacos for tons of crunch and fiber, these super fun Taco-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes that swap out tortillas for tender sweet potato and this delicious Steak Taco Salad that makes for a fun weeknight dinner.
